The 5^th Sunday after Trinity

SERMON

INI

Text: Galatians 5:13-25

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissension, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

In Christ Jesus, who would have us walk freely in the Spirit, dear fellow redeemed:

The Christians in Galatia were facing a problem that we here at Immanuel do not have to face. Certain pastors were telling them that in order to be saved they not only had to believe in Jesus as their Savior, but they also had to obey certain Old Testament laws. They had to circumcise their children; they could only eat certain types of food; they had to worship on Saturday—all as a condition of salvation. The apostle Paul in the very first chapter of this epistle rightly condemned those pastors, claiming that they were preaching a false gospel, which would cause men to lose their souls.

The Galatians were facing a different problem, however, that we here at Immanuel do have to face—the temptations of Satan! When we know that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus, that salvation is a gift from God, and that we are freed from any requirement to do good works to be saved, Satan tries to convince us that good works are unimportant and unnecessary within our Christian lives.

Good works, while not a requirement for salvation, are still certainly necessary and important. They are to be a natural part of our lives, for they truly reflect our love for Jesus. They are to be as natural for us Christians as apples growing on trees, or as vegetables growing from the seeds we plant in our gardens. If they are not present in our lives, there is something wrong.

Let us be perfectly aware that Satan’s goal is always to distort the gospel and deprive us of God’s blessings. If he can lead us to believe good works are unimportant and unnecessary within our Christian lives, he is only one step away from convincing us to misuse our Christian liberty—our freedom from the law in matters of salvation—and to trick us into believing that it is perfectly all right to sin—just as long as we believe. Consequently, in our text the apostle Paul admonishes us DEAR BRETHREN—LET US WALK FREELY IN THE SPIRIT…

I.

…motivated by the gospel and not driven by the law! Paul writes, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh…. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

As God’s children we enjoy a wonderful liberty—a freedom from the demands and threats of the law in connection with our salvation. We have been freed from uncertainty of any plan of salvation by works, for we know that we cannot earn salvation. Rather, Jesus Christ, as our substitute, kept God’s law perfectly on our behalf and bestows upon us His own perfect righteousness. We have been freed from the condemnation of the law—the very punishments of hell, for Jesus, as our substitute, “became a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13)—dying on the cross and so bore our punishment and washes away our sins.

We are truly free, therefore, but Satan will always attempt to get us to misuse our freedom—to think that we are free to sin, rather than freed to serve. Each of us has our old sinful flesh and so Paul speaks of the tug-of-war that is going on within each of us. Our sinful flesh gets angry, seeks its own way, delights in the off-color, moves us over the edge and suggests that sin is much more exciting and rewarding than faithful obedience. Each of us, however, also has our “new man” (Ephesians 4:24)—our faith, which strives to lead us in love to do that which it both right and good. Through the gospel, our new man is reminded of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do on out behalf. It urges us to be faithful—to “love the LORD” with all our hearts and to “love (our) neighbor” as ourselves (cf. Matthew 22:37,39), even when that may prove difficult, because this is the will of our loving Lord and Savior, who has rescued us and embraces us as His dear children.

That is the key to our lives of sanctification—the love and commitment of our Savior! Paul says, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” We Christians do not do what is right and good, because the law forces us to do it—“You better do it, or else!” Rather, we do what is right and good, because we are moved to do so by the Spirit in view of our Savior’s love.

A friend of mine told me a story some years ago about a neighboring farmer that illustrates this point rather well. His neighbor belonged to church, which some fifty years ago was involved with an extensive building program. The program was not going well and, in fact, the contractor was about to repossess the building materials at the construction site. The bishop in charge of the project decided that to prevent foreclosure, he would simply assess each farmer and businessman in the diocese a fee to pay for the costs of construction. When my friend’s neighbor was informed that his assessment would be $6,000, he commented to my friend, “It would be cheaper to go to hell!” But he paid the assessment—not out of love for his Savior, but rather out of fear and the compulsion of the law. DEAR BRETHREN, LET US WALK FREELY IN THE SPIRIT motivated by the gospel and not driven by the law…

II.

…and, secondly, avoiding “the works of the flesh,” which would deprive us of our inheritance in God’s kingdom! Paul writes, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissension, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

That is quite a list isn’t it? Paul begins with sexual sins, which were prevalent in his day, even as they are in our own. Our sinful flesh wants to destroy our marriages through unfaithfulness. Satan wants us to think we can live together sexually without marriage or simply hook up sexually at any time. He wants us to read the dirty books and get hooked on pornography. But notice what Paul says, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” Our sinful flesh finds the appeals to broadmindedness and suggestions that all religions and all gods are essential the same very alluring. Sorcery and witchcraft are on the rise. But remember Paul’s words, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” Our sinful flesh suggests we at times have a right to hate, that we can excuse our bad tempers as simply beyond our control, and that a little selfishness is not such a bad thing. Yet, bear in mind Paul’s words, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” Our sinful flesh may still shrink from murder, but having too much to drink or partying to the point of crossing the line between right and wrong—with such things our sinful flesh is only to willing to tease us. But Paul says, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” Really? Really!

Notice that Paul speaks of those “who practice such things.” Paul is not talking about those individuals who through weakness upon occasion fall into such sins, but who are then led by the Spirit of God to repent. He is rather talking about those individuals who have deceived themselves into believing that they may choose a lifestyle involving such sins and still be just fine with their God. Dear friends, such deception is lethal, for sin is serious in God’s eyes and living in impenitence will deprive us of life everlasting! Yes, DEAR BRETHREN—LET US WALK FREELY IN THE SPIRIT avoiding “the works of the flesh,” which would deprive us of our inheritance in God’s kingdom…

III.

…and, finally, embracing “the fruits of the Spirit,” which rather allow us in love to serve one another! Paul writes, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another…. but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another. I say then: Walk in the Spirit.”

“Love…joy…peace…longsuffering…kindness…goodness…faithfulness…gentleness…self-control”…which of these can we do without? Yesterday I performed a marriage here at church. Would it not be wonderful to put all of those virtues in a package and give them as a gift to a bride and groom? Who among us by nature possess all of these qualities in sufficient quantity and practices them with adequate consistency? None of us! Yet, what a delightful truth Paul reveals when he shares with us this knowledge that these virtues do not all come naturally, but are all “the fruit of the Spirit” and consequently available to us all as the Spirit dwells in our hearts and guides us in our lives through God’s word. Are these fruits easily obtained? No! Paul says we must “crucify our flesh,” which is certainly not easy, but well worth the effort!

Let us only remember that when we are in Christ, when we are confident of His presence, and certain of our eternal future, we do not have to be overly concerned about ourselves, but rather can concentrate on His will for our lives, which inevitably is tied to serving one another in love. But aren’t these the basics? Shouldn’t every Christian know this? Shouldn’t we all love one another properly, especially husbands and wives, brothers and sisters? Of course! Shouldn’t we all be kind and good and gentle and self-controlled? Yes, indeed! Still, the apostle Paul reminds us that Satan is strong and persistent and will be trying to lead us to “bite and devour one another” to the point that we “consume one another!” What a pity given the love with which Jesus has loved us and the potential that is ours by virtue of the Spirit presence in our lives!

DEAR BRETHREN—we live in connection with the Spirit! He has given us spiritual life by bringing us to faith in the precious gospel of Jesus Christ! LET US WALK FREELY IN THE SPIRIT embracing “the fruits of the Spirit,” which allow us in love to serve one another! Then our God and Savior will be glorified! Then we too will be blessed. Amen!

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting